A Simple Flower
by WindrunnerProductions
Summary: Aaron hated the Forsaken. They were the soul reason that Gilneas had fallen. Unfortunately for him he mistakes one as a human picking flowers. He wants to attack her but another part of him would hate himself for it. He would never see her again anyway! No need for bloodshed. Sadly, this Forsaken girl plagued his mind like her people plagued his city.


Jesus. How long as it been? .-. Well. I'm proud of myself. I finally slapped my writers block across the face and wrote this terrible thing I call a story. To be completely honest here, I don't care about how undead woman are suppose to look. Arisa never rots! Just like Sylvanas, yay! :D

Disclaimers: I don't own Warcraft and Aaron is technically Matt's character since he helped make him up.

Rating: I'll use T because I used the word fuck. Oops.

Also: If you have read my other story, The Crown of Roses, then you would know about Karin, Gwen, and Emree.

Hope you enjoy. Please review on how you think it turned out. Don't flame me too much, you have to remember I just got over writers block!

Edit: I just realized I am the only person to have written a Forsaken and Worgen romance story. Go me!

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It had been a gloomy day in the forests of Silverpine, as per usual. Arisa had been walking down the old, stoned road for about fifteen minutes. Her dark cloth armor seemed to fit right in with her surroundings. She kept her hood up, darkness covering her face. As she continued her walk along the pavement, something white caught her eye. She stopped and faced the culprit. A healthy patch of Peacebloom had decided to make it's home right there on the side. Arisa was no herbalist, but she had needed a new ordainment piece for her table. So with that, she crouched down and began to fumble with the root.

Aaron stuffed his hands in his pockets and stared at the walkway, dragging out a long sigh. He lazily kicked a pebble and watched as it rolled a few inches before rinsing and repeating. He wasn't sure why he decided to visit the ruins of what was left of Gilneas, knowing it would only depress him even more. He just missed home, his family. Aaron cursed under his breath, muttering something along the lines of "Sylvanas the bitch and her damned undead...". He looked up from his deathly glare at the pavement. He noticed a figure up ahead. The person was hunched over something, a flower from the looks of it. It was female by the size and curves. "Hey... friend or foe?" Slowly, he drew his sword from its sheath.

Arisa stood and brushed off her hands. She turned in what seemed like slow motion to him. Her eyes, although invisible to him due to her hood, locked with his purple ones. The worgen male was holding a sword, which was pointed at her. They were a few feet away from one another but she still had a good view on him. He was taller then the average worgen male by an inch or so. His fur was a coal black and his eyes reminded her that of an amethyst. He was clad in leather. He was no doubt a druid... perhaps a rogue? Arisa didn't speak. She never answered his question. She only stared at him.

Aaron eyed her up and down. She wasn't hunched over like a female Forsaken. No bones had been showing, no smell of rotting flesh. Her toes and fingers were not missing any signs of skin, for they were covered by her gloves and shoes. If this was a Forsaken, this sure as hell wasn't a normal one. "Defiantly a human..." He muttered softly. Aaron put his sword away and walked over to this 'human' with slight caution. Her silence had been... displeasing and left a haunting feeling in the air.

"I suppose... appearance changes the mind quickly, then?" The hooded woman tilted her head sideways ever so slightly. Her voice had a light echo to it. It was soft and angelic sounding, but it cut through the air like a sharpened butcher knife. Aaron stopped in his tracks instantly and wanted to reach for his sword once more. He eyed her with suspicion. The uneasy feeling in his stomach grew rapidly in large amounts.

"What... do you mean?" Aaron could feel the smirk across the face he could not see. The woman slowly reached for her hood. The tips of her gloved fingers traced the sides before meeting the top. She calmly grabbed it and pulled it back. The fist thing he caught sight of was the soft blonde hair that fell a little ways past her shoulders. Her skin was deathly pale but it seemed to suit her. Her eyes only confirmed that he had been wrong. Her eyes were not that of a normal human, but instead a magnificent glowing gold. "You're... a Forsaken..."

"Surprised?" She raised a thin eyebrow at the dumbfounded wolf-man. Arisa had always known she was different from the other undead risen by Sylvanas' valkyrie. Her skin was still in wonderful contact, as if she had never died. She was forever preserved, just like the Dark Lady herself.

Aaron continued to stare at her. His brain pounded furiously. Half of it told him to attack her, she was the soul reason why Gilneas fell in the first place. The other half told him to ignore her, she wasn't worth the bloodshed. He grit his canine teeth together in frustration. He would be the better person in this situation, unless she attacked him of course. "This whole planet is immersed into a race war. Sadly, appearance does matter. The fact is that it's become a habit that when we come across one another we turn to a defensive mode." He speaks as he walks forward in her direction, trying his best to keep his cool.

"Ah... but I did not, now did I?" She smirks. The woman was right, she had been calm this entire time. "A curse would have inflicted you by now, yes?" She turned her back on him to proceed with picking her Peacebloom. This gave him the perfect opportunity to kill her if he wished it so. Part of him did as he hesitantly reached for his blade but stopped, cursing at himself in a hushed tone.

He sighed gruffly and leaned over to where the herb was. "This is how you uproot a plant." her clutched at the base of the stem and gave a yank. The root gave out and pulled up with ease. It was in perfect contact. They both stood and he slowly raised the flower for her to take. She took it from him carefully and their hands touched for a brief moment. Aaron was sure his heart stopped for a whole millisecond.

"I'm no herbalist." She reached around for her brown satchel that sat on the ground and gently placed it on top of mounds of cloth and baggies of enchanter's dust. "Though I suppose that was simple enough." She smiled at him and not a single tooth had been missing nor yellow. Aaron was more then positive this time. That or he really needed to get checked out for all-of-a-sudden heart problems.

"You think I am?" He growled at her, having to turn his head from the sight. "I'm not your stereotypical herbalist druid!" The corner of his jaws lifted in a snarl, his pointers flaunting themselves. He crossed his arms and forced himself to look at her. Aaron some what regret it.

The woman was smirking at him. " Of course not. That would be your lovely Night Elf ally." She closed and snapped her bag closed, throwing it over her shoulder. She chuckled, though to him it sounded more like a giggle. She turned on her heels and began to walk in the opposite direction that didn't lead to Under City.

Aaron wasn't sure why, but he found himself following her. "Meh..." He kept his arms folded and his head down so he could watch his paws-for-feet. His wolfish ears would twitch ever so often when she would step on a twig. "You'd be surprised..." He lifted his shoulders in a lazy shrug, gazing up at her for a short moment before returning it to the ground, which was now faded grass.

"Most Night Elf druids are~" She cooed, turning her head enough to the side to glance at him. She pulled her hood up once more, shielding her face. The forest engulfed them slowly, trees seemed to circle around them. Occasionally leaves would dance around them by the light wind that blew about.

Aaron just kept quiet after that. He was thinking, mind reeling with curiosity and wonder. He didn't understand why she didn't look a thing like the other undead females. She could pass off as a really pale human. Hell, she could go into any Alliance city she wanted to if her eyes didn't glow that gorgeous gold. Suddenly, a question itched at his throat. "You live here? In Silverpine?"

Arisa almost sighed as the peaceful quiet was shattered. She only nodded. When she felt the glare at her back she knew he wasn't satisfied with that, so she spoke calmly. "Well... yes." She let out a soft chuckle. "You think I want to live in a city with rotting corpses?" She almost felt hypocritical. Almost.

"Most people do..." He shrugs and knit his eyebrows together. It was a little odd to hear a Forsaken say such things.

"By 'people' I take it you mean us Forsaken?" She glared back at him. "As you can clearly see, unless your eyes are broken, I am different." Arisa turns her attention back to the trail to her home she made by memory. "The smell repulses me. I'm still unsure why, but I myself to not produce such a stench." She felt like her stomach was churning just by the thought of the horrid smells that plagued Under City.

"That's not... what I meant..." Aaron mentally kicked himself. "I mean... not everyone wishes to stay in the capital city." He nods, vaguely remembering when his friend tried to get him to stay in the human capital. "Don't ever go to Stormwind... ever." He grumbled, scratching his head.

"Clearly..." She smirked. Her house could be seen in the distance. Smoke rose from the chimney, indicating that something was cooking or just burning simple fire logs. She heard him mumble something but was unable to catch it. "What?" She stopped her walk and turned to face him.

"You could probably go wherever you wanted." He nods, repeating himself. "I mean... you literally pass off as an extremely pale human." He stuffed his hands into his pockets just like before and eyed her. "Maybe you could go anywhere... convince anyone... a tan would help though, of course." He snickered at his joke.

"And what of my eyes, hm?" She raised an eyebrow, though he could not see it due to her hood. "They glow golden. I believe they would know the moment they locked their eyes with my own." She chuckled and turned, continuing her walk. "I think you are just an idiot."

Aaron ignores that last comment and follows her. He thinks for a moment. "I know a guy who tattooed his eyelids." He heard her scoff and he grinned like an imp.

"I'm not tattooing my eyelids." She grumbled and sighed. She heard him snickering behind her and she frowned. She inwardly winced at the mere thought of a needle pressing against such a thin, delicate piece of skin.

"Of course not!" His grin grew ear to ear, just like that of the Cheshire cat. "I only figured as much." They were now at the door to her home. He hadn't noticed before but the house looked exactly like one you would find in Gilneas. The designs and colors... there was no doubt about it. This was a replica of a typical Gilnean house. Only difference was that it was somewhere in the woods of Silverpine Forest and not in the outskirts of the city itself. The Forsaken opened her door and stepped aside to let him in. He only stood there, nostalgia bursting through his very veins. "This looks like..."

Arisa had to practically push him inside, which did no better. The furniture style was remarkably similar as well. "A house you would find in Gilneas?" She walked over to her table, which oddly enough, was fit for exactly two people. She dumped the old flowers out the open window and filled the vase with that of fresh water from the pitcher. She quietly arranged the new flowers, her back facing him. "Yes... I suppose it does..."

Aaron's body suddenly filled with sadness as he looked around the room. He had to get out of this house, and fast. "I better go." He states all to quickly. He cursed to himself mentally and looked away from her eyes that were now on him.

"Oh? And why is that?" Arisa removed her hood and delicately sat on her table. Her legs instantly crossed elegantly. She could tell he felt pressured and he slowly inched closer to the door. She sighed, thinking to change the subject. "Just don't send your mutt friends after me." She smiled mischievously. Carefully, she removed her gloves and placed them across her lap.

"Don't send shambling meat after me..." He returned her smile, thankful that he didn't have to come up with an excuse. "And we have a deal." He nodded with a snicker.

"I yet to know where you reside." She gathers all of her hair and moves it to one side, gazing at him with unblinking eyes. Aaron almost forgot how to breathe. "So I think that is quite impossible." She smirked.

"You weren't too far off when you decided to pick that flower of yours." He motions to the Peacebloom that sat happily in its new home. He made his move for the door and opened it slowly. He took one last look at her and the room she called home. He felt like saying something else, but held his tongue.

"Don't let the door hit you on the way out." She lazily rested her chin on the palm of her smooth hand, which found its place on the knee that was crossed over her leg.

"I'll try." He sent her a small smile as he exited her home.

End~ Day 1.

It had been four whole days since they had last spoken to one another. Aaron had contemplated going to find her, but always decided against it. To make it worse, he had even seen the woman picking flowers near his home. Despite himself, he longed to go talk to her. She never even realized that the worgen would see her and gaze at her from afar whenever he came across her. Maybe it was better that way. Then again, things work in strange ways. He would finally have no choice but to talk to her today.

Arisa sat at her wooden table and stared at the beautiful red roses she had put in the vase the night before. She tapped her fingers lightly on the mahogany colored wood, thinking. "I wish to make..."She turns her stare to the similar colored door. "Pumpkin pie..." She smiled and stood. Pumpkin pie had always been her favorite sweet delight, and it felt like forever since she last had a slice. There was a small pumpkin patch in Silverpine that she knew about, so she saddled up her undead steed and made her way over.

Aaron slowly creaked his door open. He peaked his head around to make sure no one was lurking around to spot him. He stepped onto the cold pavement and sighed. He was about to take another long trip to Gilneas. It became a daily routine. Wake up, wash and dress, eat, go to Gilneas and sulk for hours, come home, eat again, and sleep. Maybe watch the undead girl for several minutes if she was close by. Aaron sighed once more and walked down the pathway that lead to the main road. "What a mundane life..." He grumbled.

Arisa stopped her steed and climbed down. She looked around the farm with disapproval. A undead male walked over to her, back hunched. "How can... I help you?" He grinned with malice as he stared her down. Arisa snickered. "I _was _going to buy a pumpkin... but unfortunately for you that won't be happening." The man raised and eyebrow. "Oh? And why is that?" His grin fell slightly. "Have you seen these pumpkins? They aren't even ripe, much less healthy." She turned on her heels and climbed back onto her horse. She sighed. Before she could even head home, the male stopped her. "If you wish to have a pumpkin, there is an abandoned pumpkin farm just eastward of the market. They are in amazing condition." He nods. Arisa looks towards Gilneas and pushes her steed forward in that direction.

Aaron was almost to the gates of Gilneas. Normally he just walked throughout the town, sometimes visited the chapel. Today, however, he decided to visit the place where he lived. His family use to own the local pumpkin farm. To this day he remembered helping his Pa take a cart full of pumpkins to the market place every Sunday after church. He himself wasn't sure how they survived the plague. When he got to the smashed and broken gates, he stopped. Aaron noticed horse tracks in the mud and furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "Weird..." He shrugged it off and continued his walk. Fifteen minutes passed and the back of the house he grew up in came into view. He circled around the small house and into the pumpkin field. There was a very familiar figure standing there.

"The Forsaken did not lie... these pumpkins look amazing..." She took off her hood so she could view the pumpkins better. She picked up a smaller one and examined it thoroughly. Her horse, Sally, was happily grazing on a patch of grass near the gate. Her ear twitched and she looked up. She cocked her head sideways as she seen the worgen appear from around the house. She neighed and reared up, attracting the attention of her owner. Arisa set the pumpkin down and turned. She smirked the moment she locked eyes with him.

"Why do I always run into you..." He groaned in hearing distance. He sulked over to the undead woman. He gazed at her, unable to help it. He realized then that she should wear her hood down more often. No one should hide their face with beauty like that.

"On the contrary..." Arisa's smirk grew. She sat down on a rather large pumpkin and crossed her legs. The worgen was now in front of her, staring down in a hypnotized state. "This is only the second time we have come across one another." The worgen scoffed and looked away. She tilted her head and rested it on her chin.

"That you think..." He began to look at her again. "I've seen you plenty before." He some what regret what he said as he seen the mischief swim throughout her eyes. Aaron backed away slightly as she began to stand once more, to give her room.

"I suppose I have a stalker then?" The worgen scoffed and crossed his arms. The smile on her face grew and it slightly lifted up the gloomy area.

"As if..." He mumbled and rolled his eyes. "You practically pick my entire rose bush on a daily basis." He narrowed his eyes at her. "What are you even doing here?" She gave him a puzzled look like it was clearly obvious why. "This is... was my family's pumpkin farm. I have the right to know." She only raised her brows at him.

"Well. Obviously I'm here to pick daisies." She said sarcastically and moved her hand around as if to show him all the nonexistent flowers. He growled lowly and it caused her to smirk."I'm here to take a pumpkin." He furrowed his brows in slight confusion."I intend to make pie." Her smirk grew.

"Pie? Why the hell would a Forsaken want pie?" He scratched the back of his neck. He sighed and shrugged. "Take whatever you want. They aren't of any use to anyone anymore." Arisa smiled at him and she turned to the pumpkin she had once been looking at. It was big enough to make a small pie and small enough to fit in Sally's pack that was attached to her saddle. "I have a price..." He smirked when she sighed and reached for her gold pouch. "One slice as kickback."

Arisa smiled and climbed onto Sally, two legs on one side like a real lady. "Mmm..." She tapped her chin, thinking. "That's kind of pricey..." He shrugged and looked disappointed. "You can help yourself, of course." She chuckled when his ears perked up. She pushed forward and slowly made her way deeper into Gilneas.

"Where are you going...?" He peered at her back, which was now currently inching away.

"I heard about this enclosure." He repeated her in a questioning tone. "Yes... I heard about this place. Full of mixed white and red roses." He tried not to chuckle. Of course that's where she was going. She was unable to see this, however, due to her back facing him.

He jogged up to her to catch up. He paced beside her horse and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "I think I know what you are talking about." He blinks a few times and removed one of his hands to place on his chin."I can take you if you'd like?" He looked up at her and she nodded with a smile. Arisa handed him the reins of her horse which he gladly took. He led the horse with the Forsaken on it through the woods. The roses slowly made their way into view. "Oh, by the way, my name is Aaron." He smiled toothily at her, flaunting his canines.

"Arisa." She nods at him, returning the smile. He replayed the name over and over in his head and instantly thought it was beautiful. "Did your family own this too?" She leaned up enough to pat Sally on the head. She neighed with approval.

"No one did." He shakes his head, his thoughts now shattered. "It has always been there." Aaron shrugs. "Everyone just decided... that it was too beautiful to damage." He nods, stopping the horse and helping her down. "There was one girl though... I guess you could say she owned it." Arisa gave him a questioning glance. "Her and her lover would come here all the time. They practically were the roses guardians, I guess is one way to put it." He chuckled at how lame it sounded.

"Fascinating." She let her hand linger on his own for a moment before pulling away and walking toward the roses. Aaron was close at her heels. "They look amazing..." She nods, stopping long enough to admire a bush. Her fingers brushed over the delicate petals and she smiled. She looked up and noticed two headstones that sat directly in the middle of all the roses. She lightly traced the edges and up the top. "Did you know these people?"

Aaron shakes his head. "Not formally, no." He read the names that had been engraved onto the beautiful marble out loud. "Karin and Gwen Orwell..." He rubs his chin and nods. "I think we might have sold a few pumpkins to them... I know there had been another child... Emree I think...? Nah..." He shrugged, unsure.

"This one was only a mere child..." She frowned and stared down at the smaller mound of dirt. "Do you know what happened to them, at least?" She looked at him, truly intrigued.

"It was the talk of the town for some time. The mother died from child labor." He nodded, frowning the moment he seen her face fill with sadness. "And as for the little girl..." His lip twitched slightly in a snarl. Arisa noticed this and narrowed her eyes. "If the Forsaken never invaded Gilneas..." He growled. "This little girl would have never died."

Arisa looked back down at the grave, her frown increasing. She hadn't been involved with anything that proceeded in Gilneas, so she was unaware of all that happened. "My people is the reason she died?" Aaron was already talking over her own voice before she was half way finished with her sentence. His tone was full of anger and sorrow.

"Your people is the soul reason for everything that happened!" He stepped towards her and she backed up slightly. She could see the pure rage in his eyes. "That poor little girl had to suffer, fucking suffer, because of your damned plague doctors! Even after Garrosh told you specifically not to do anything with the plague!" His muzzle was up in a snarl and for once, Arisa was actually scared of him. "All you are is a rotting flesh bag! A despicable monster!" His rage slowly died down, his breathing ragged. Once all of what just happened sank in, his eyes grew wide. The last word he said repeated in his mind like a broken record and the look on her face made him regret every single thing.

"A.. m-monster..." She narrowed her eyes, looking at the ground beneath her feet in pure shock and she was truly heartbroken. A sudden burst of rage filled her and she snapped her head up."You say this like you know everything!" She hissed and bumped into his shoulder harshly, moving past him toward her horse. "Sylvanas may be my leader but I didn't approve of what she had done to Gilneas for a second! She ordered me to come and help with the plague but I refused! She sent me to live with the orcs as punishment!" She mounted onto Sally, her voice quivering now. "You don't even _know_ the vial... disgusting things that they did to me." Her hands are shaky on the reins and she forces her mount to go forward.

Aaron could only stand there flabbergasted. Seconds turned into minutes and when he finally came to the realization of what all just happened it had been too late. The forsaken woman had left. He was standing there alone in the field of roses. "Damn it!" He hissed and punched a tree as he was walking by. His knuckles started to bleed but he ignored it. He just screwed up everything with this girl. He should have known that the girl wouldn't have taken part in then battle for Gilneas. He knew, he_ knew_, that this woman was nothing near the monster that the rest of her people were. Yet he said it. He said it and now he had to live with that for the rest of his life.

End~ Day 2.

Aaron sat in his chair, elbows on his knees, and head in his palms. All he could think about was the fact it had been a week, yes a week, since the incident and he still had not gone to apologize. He was scared in all honesty. He was scared that she wouldn't forgive him and would refuse to talk to him ever again. Or, perhaps, something worse. He would walk to her home to find her dead with a suicide note. He shook his head of that thought instantly.

He removed his hands long enough to look out the window. It had been raining nonstop since that day. He had to walk home in the rain that night, armor soaked and fur annoyingly wet. He felt so stupid for not going straight to her house. Aaron looked at his table and expected to see a vase of some kind of flower. He whimpered when he didn't. His ears flattened again his head and he returned to the sulky state from before.

Unbeknownst to him, Arisa hadn't killed herself. She sat at her table, hand on her chin as she slowly turned the teaspoon in her teacup. She was in a similar depressed state. She had always hated to be called a "monster"... but it hurt even worse coming from him. She figured that he really didn't care about what he said. It had been a week after all. She was really starting to miss those dazzling amethyst eyes. She sighed and stared at the wilting Peacebloom in her vase. She had not been in the mood to pick new herbs, nor in the mood to just dump them out. They seemed to fit her and her mood anyway.

Aaron replayed the event over in his mind thousands of times. He still couldn't believe all those harsh things he said to her. "She didn't even get to pick any roses..." He sighed. It took him a moment for what he just said to click in his mind. "Wait... she didn't... pick any..." He sits up and scrabbled to put on his leather boots. The idea seemed that of a marvelous one. He would travel all the way to Gilneas and pick some white and red roses for her! Aaron swung his front door opened and ran through the pelting rain. He didn't care how long it took, but he would make things right between the two.

Hours had passed and the rain never let up. He was inching closer to her house. He gripped the bouquet of roses he picked tightly. Aaron was contemplating on just turning around and going home but as soon as Arisa's house came into view he knew there was no backing out.

Sally was underneath a small shelter drinking water from her horse trough. She licked her lips happily and looked up to see the worgen hesitantly walking up to the house. Sally bobbed her head in encouragement and made a small murr sound. Aaron shushed her before she could make a full on neigh and Sally stomped her hoof on the ground in disapproval. Aaron sent her an apologetic smile and stopped in front of the door. He breathed in deeply and nodded to himself. Slowly, he raised his hand to the door and knocked three times.

Arisa hadn't moved from the table. She just stared at the window, watching the rain make patterns against the glass. She hadn't been expecting a knock at the door. The girl turned her head and just watched. She didn't feel like talking to anyone at the moment. It was probably another adventurer making a pit stop for enchantments again.

That's why when she heard the soft and almost silent "Hello... Arisa?" she jumped, startled. She knew exactly who it was and wasted no time to hurry over to the door. She flung it open and just stared. Aaron was holding out a bouquet of roses for her. He was dripping wet and even some rain found its way onto the floor behind her opened door. He didn't make eye contact with her and she could tell he was shaking, from the cold rain or the anxiety, she didn't know.

"Thank you..." She finally managed to mumble. Arisa hesitantly reached out for the flowers and took them from him. Their hands touched once again and time seemed to freeze. Aaron had finally looked at her. His amethyst eyes told her what he could not say. However, there was something else in his eyes that she couldn't quite make out.

Arisa turned and was going to put the flowers in the vase but was stopped. Aaron grabbed her arm and pulled out of her door and into his arms. This caused her to drop the roses on her floor. She was shocked... and now completely soaked. She rested her hands on his chest along with her head and listened. His heart was beating dramatically, his body in trembles. She heard him mumble something and he hugged her tighter.

Slowly and hesitantly, he put his fingers under her chin and lifted her head so that way they were face to face. He moved his hand to cup her cheek. Gold stared back at purple and they both realized then how much one needed the other. Aaron could hold back no longer and he leaned in to capture her lips against his own. He didn't know what to expect, but strangely kissing her hadn't tasted sickening... but instead of cinnamon.

Arisa was shocked and she instantly tensed up. When she realized he wasn't going to pull away anytime soon she relaxed and her hands traveled up and around his shoulders. As soon as her lips moved against his in sync, he knew then and there that he wouldn't care if it rained for eternity as long as he was here by her side.

His simple flower.

Fin~


End file.
